Inglourious Basterds

*WARNING: If you haven't seen the film, beware of spoilers.*

Let's cut to the chase here: after all the atrocities committed during World War II by Hitler and his Third Reich, who WOULDN'T want to see those sadistic, goose-stepping cunts being horribly tortured and mutilated? Well, Quentin Tarantino's latest motion picture epic promises that and a hell of a lot more.

Well, in the trailers, at least. But we'll get to that later.

The plot(s) of the film involves a group of Jewish-American soldiers employed by the OSS, informally known as the Basterds. They are led by Lt. Aldo Raine (played with the thickest Tennessee accent of all time by Brad Pitt) and have been dropped into Nazi-occupied France in the guise of civilians in order to carry out their mission: to hunt down and brutally kill (and scalp) as many SS officers as they possibly can, or die trying.

Meanwhile, a young French-Jewish girl named Shoshanna Dreyfus has narrowly escaped from the Nazis herself. She manages to settle in Paris, assuming the identity of Emmanuelle Mimieux, a cinema proprietress, and is preparing to exact a revenge plan of her own. The premiere of a Nazi propagandist film is to be held at her cinema, where all the bigwigs of the SS (including Hitler himself) will be shmoozing it up. As the Basterds prepare to gatecrash the biggest gathering of scum and villainy, the stage is set for an explosive climax.

Probably the most deceiving aspect of a movie is its trailer. It can stir audiences into a rabid frenzy of excitement, only to punch their expectations in the soul until there is nothing left but a barely conscious, pulsating mass of bitterness and murderous rage:


NEW LINE CINEMA: SODOMIZING YOUR FAVORITE FANTASY NOVELS ONE ADAPTATION AT A TIME (EVEN AFTER GETTING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME).

This movie is no exception to the rule of deceptive promotion, but in this instance, it depends on what kind of moviegoer you are. If you go into this movie expecting typical bloody, ultraviolent Tarantino fare, you may be disappointed or you may be pleasantly surprised. This is advertised as a film primarily about the Basterds and their exploits, and yet we actually see very little of them throughout the film. The majority of screen time is actually devoted to either Shoshanna or the SS Colonel Hans Landa (played with a truly menacing charm by Cristoph Waltz). What violence that does occur on screen is graphic, brutal and incredibly satisfying, but it appears Tarantino enjoys taunting his viewers with the possibility of seeing one of those German bastards get what's coming to them. This is a very dialogue-heavy film, with plenty of psychological maneuvering and deception going on (to the point where it got slightly tedious, especially during the tavern scene). However, this film is also fairly unusual in Tarantino's filmography in that it contains what our North American audiences dread the most:

SUBTITLES.

Yes, the majority of the dialogue in this film is spoken in French and German, flabbergasting audiences with how much text was in this supposedly action-packed motion picture. Why, just at the theater where I went to see this film, people poured out of the building and marched on a rampage down the streets, voicing their outrage at this violation of their right to freedom of illiteracy:


THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY'S HEADQUARTERS WERE TORCHED SEVERAL DAYS LATER. THERE WERE NO SURVIVORS.

Anyway, you get the picture. This movie may or may not be to your liking, depending on what you're really going for, but it is NOT Kill Bill. Do not expect it to be so.

Now, as for what I actually thought about it:

I was one of those viewers who were pleasantly surprised. All of the above being said, however, none of what I mentioned works to the detriment of the film. The pacing was exemplary in terms of the way Tarantino juggled both plots and slowly brought them together to lead into what is quite frankly one of the most exciting and satisfying climaxes I have seen in a movie. It's evident that Tarantino's main strength as a filmmaker is his ability to keep his audiences entertained, if not entirely emotionally involved. Which leads me into my next point:

The characterization in the film, I found, was a little off-kilter in terms of dimensions of personality. The American Basterds (who I would have loved to see more of), the Germans and the Brits are all played almost perfectly to type, to the point where it almost comes off as a garish caricature.

For example, here are the Brits:


SO, YES, THAT IS YOUR MISSION. YOU MUST NOT FAIL. WELL, NOW THAT WE'RE THROUGH, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD REMOVE THIS BLASTED POLE FROM MY ARSE? IT'S JUST SO DIFFICULT TO MOVE WITH THIS THING...OH, AND GET ME SOME MORE SCOTCH WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, THERE'S A GOOD CHAP! PIP PIP! SPIT SPOT! CHEERIO!

Ze Germans:


MMMYES, WE DO LOVE OUR STRUDEL! AND PEOPLE GETTING SHOT IN THE FACE IS ALWAYS GOOD FOR A LAUGH! POWER TO THE ARYAN RACE! ZIEG HEIL!

While the Basterds (particularly Brad Pitt's and Eli Roth's characters) were undoubtedly the second coolest characters in the film, even they were only developed on one level. We didn't see any other side to them than their vengeful, Nazi-killing sides, which made it slightly more difficult to actually like them. Why are they really doing this? Where do they come from? None of these questions are answered. In fact, the only reason we do sympathize with what they do is because every single one of these Nazi sons of bitches has it coming to them. I guess in Tarantino's world, the nature of morality is slightly skewed that way.

Moving on, the performances in this film ranged from quite good to superb. The biggest standout of them all, as I said above, was Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa, aka the "Jew-Hunter". His ability to act convincingly in four languages notwithstanding, this actor has managed to portray a very classical, if exaggerated, villain character with a deadly silver tongue, one who charms before he kills. Waltz knows how to create a sense of menace, but sugarcoat it at the same time, and he does it brilliantly.

Also, special props has to be given to Mike "Austin Powers" Myers for his brief appearance as the British general Ed Fenech. Myers has managed to create a very distinct image for himself as a comic actor in movies such The Love Guru and, of course, the Austin Powers series. When I saw this character for the first time, I had no idea who this actor was, but I never would have guessed it was him. I remember doing a visible double-take upon finding out that this character was played by the very same man. This may well be the first step towards Myers being recognized as a more versatile actor capable of playing more serious roles. Kudos to him.

And finally, the "star" of the film himself, Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine. In my mind...well...nothing too spectacular. His character was just as one-note as the rest of the cast, so he admittedly had rather limited material to work with. Still, he went just a little too overboard with the accent, to the point where I had to almost strain my ears to understand what exactly he was saying.

So, to conclude, how does this movie fare up? Well, it's certainly entertaining enough, although the character development (or lack thereof) falls rather flat in the end. It is exceptionally well-plotted, although some scenes did tend to drag themselves out a little. The acting, for the most part is quite well done, being one of the more salvageable elements of the film. I would give it a pretty decent rating, such as a 7 out of 10. If you're looking for an action movie that'll satisfy your thirst for a good yarn, then this will definitely do the trick. Just don't expect it to be quite as mindless as some of the other movies we've seen in the last few months.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day.



--Vishesh